Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to separators and stack stabilizers placed in between boards or sheets stacked atop one another and placed in a kiln or otherwise allowed to dry or cure.
Description of the Related Art
Green lumber must be dried before it can be used as a construction material. Typically, green lumber is stacked and placed in a kiln to dry. Separators and/or stack stabilizers (referred to as “stickers”) are placed in between boards stacked atop one another to allow air to circulate in between the boards.
Similarly, many sheet materials (such as cement board) are formed (e.g., extruded), stacked, and allowed to dry or cure. Stickers are placed in between vertically adjacent sheets stacked atop one another to allow air to circulate in between the vertically adjacent sheets.
Stickers are typically constructed from wood. A common problem caused by conventional wooden stickers is “sticker stain” or “sticker shadow” (referred to hereafter as “sticker stain”), which is a stain on the wood or sheet material caused by uneven drying or curing. Sticker stain typically appears at those locations whereat stickers contacted the wood or sheet during drying or curing. Further, because mold can grow on and in wooden stickers, after becoming contaminated with mold (e.g., by lumber), the contaminated stickers can transfer that mold to other materials during subsequent uses. Thus, wooden stickers can transfer mold (and sticker stain) between different surfaces during consecutive uses. Another problem associated with using conventional wooden stickers is that they may be warped or non-uniform, which causes lumber to warp during drying. Additionally, wooden stickers have a useful life of only about three years. Therefore, a need exists for stickers that avoid one or more of these shortcomings. For example, stickers that avoid causing sticker stain would be particularly desirable, as would stickers that help prevent lumber and sheet materials from warping. The present application provides these and other advantages as will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying figures.
Like reference numerals have been used in the figures to identify like components.